Season 2, Show #5 – Heart disease in pets

Dr. Caroline Gilje of the Barrett Station Veterinary Clinic joins host Victoria Babu in the studio to discuss heart disease in pets and answer caller questions.

• Chocolate can be deadly to dogs. A little bit of chocolate, though not good for dogs, won't necessarily kill them. But a pound of chocolate could.
• There are two types of heart conditions in cats:
  • With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, the walls of cat's hearts get very thick, so thick that it no longer functions properly
  • With Dilated Cardiomyopathy, the walls of a cat's heart become very thin, so thin that it no longer functions properly
• Dogs or cats do not suffer heart attacks. There is no such thing as heart attack in veterinary medicine.
• A caller heard that aspirin could treat her dog's severe arthritis just as well as veterinary-prescribed Rimadyl. Dr. Caroline explains that aspirin is not necessarily a safe alternative to Rimadyl.
• Dogs are susceptible to heart valve disease. Symptoms of this include low energy, coughing after exercise and irregular heartbeat.
• Feed your cat a complete and balanced diet appropriate for her life stage. Without taurine, an amino acid, cats develop heart disease.
• Available by prescription, Purina Veterinary Diets® JM Joint Mobility™ Canine Formula for the dietary management of dogs with osteoarthritis is available by prescription only from your veterinarian
• A caller travels a great deal. Would a new puppy have trouble adjusting to more than one home?
• A caller's cat bites when she's petted. What can the caller do?
• If a cat squirms too much when you're trying to trim her claws, you can try rolling her up in a towel like a burrito to help keep her still.
• Trivia question: Which president was the first to have cats in the White House?
• A caller's sixty-pound dog hates taking baths. What can the caller do?
• Trivia question answer: Abraham Lincoln